Same Beginnings, Different Endings
by SpunkRansom101
Summary: This is a challenge that ericastwilight came up with to help encourage us to write. Every chapter is considered a one shot. A beginning is provided and each of us must write the rest of the story. Check out the other author's endings listed inside.


**AN:** Two hundred fifty to five hundred words will be written as the beginning of the exercise and you the author must come up with what happens next. Anything is possible. The goal is to see what the possibilities could be and help with writer's block. Word count is unlimited and is completely up to the author.

All _beginnings have been written by ericastwilight_  
Current participants: ericastwilight – kyla713 – SpunkRansom101

* * *

**Challenge Two - Room with a View**

_Edward cursed when his elbow hit the doorframe. "Hey, Swan! Where do you want this box labeled..." he looked down at the label marked "bedroom" and nearly choked when he could see lots of lace and silk from the opening. "Intimate apparel?" _

_A squeak came from the kitchen, making him smile. He could imagine the color rising in her pretty face. The decision to move in with his sister's best friend was the second wisest choice he'd ever made. Right after he made it his mission to make Bella Swan his. _

_They had met when his sister brought her home for the holidays. The poor thing had lost all her family, but gained one when she came to visit the Cullen home over a year ago._

_He wanted her from that first moment he met her. She had rich, brown hair with matching eyes, a body to die for, even when it was often disguised in oversized t-shirts and hooded jackets. He was damn thankful she preferred skinny jeans— she had an amazing ass._

_However, when they had first met, he'd been living on the east coast, finishing school. While she was on the west coast, with a damn boyfriend of two fucking years, one she lived with, but for some damn reason, he'd never taken her home to meet his family._

_There was something fishy about that shit and Edward's suspicions were confirmed when six months after he met her, she found out the bastard had a girlfriend back home. Even then, the timing had been off, because Edward refused to be rebound guy. _

_It wasn't until two months earlier, when it was finally set in stone, Edward decided to move back home. Job secured, he only needed a place to stay. As he looked for apartments, he remained at his parents' house, but he needed his own space. _

_However, despite his new employment, he figured there was no way he'd be able to afford a nice place on his own. Things worked out one night, during one of his family's Sunday dinners, Bella had joined them, after his sister, Alice, said that the poor woman was living on a ramen noodle diet. _

_That damn asshole ex-boyfriend had left her to finish paying the lease of their house when she couldn't afford it. She was slowly paying it back to save her credit, while living in a shithole apartment for the last few months. And before Edward could even think about it, he asked if she'd be interested in being his roommate. _

_The gloating smirks on his mother's and Alice's faces confirmed that their scheme to get them together had worked. At least he had their support and approval._

_It was Bella's distressed, "Oh my God," from the dining room that had him dropping the box in his haste to get to her. When he found her in the dining room, staring out a picturesque window, the look on her face was both horrified and oddly fascinated. _

_What the hell?_

_It wasn't until he turned, to see what had her so transfixed that he'd seen them. Across from their condo, was an apartment they could see into; it appeared to be a bedroom. What probably had Bella's panties up in a bunch, was the fact that there was a couple really going at it on the bed. And sitting in a chair, facing them was another man, watching them, as he stroked himself._

_Smirking, Edward threw an arm across Bella's shoulders and whispered, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"_

Bella tore her eyes away from the window and up to Edward. "That we should invest in some blinds?"

Edward's smirk grew wider at her comment. "Actually, I was thinking that this room has one hell of a view, and then I started thinking that we could go introduce ourselves, seeing as we are now window neighbors, maybe get in on the action, ow!" he groaned when Bella elbowed him in the side.

"Perv. Are you done with moving the boxes?" she asked resting her hands on her hips.

He shook his head. "No, I was wondering where you wanted me to put your 'intimate apparel' when you caught the show."

Her cheeks flushed a light shade of pink. "Just put it anywhere in my room. I'll deal with it later." She said dismissively.

"Yes mam," Bella rolled her eyes at his comment and turned away with a sway in her hips that Edward couldn't keep his eyes off of. He knew that things were starting to change between them. The air around them seemed charged somehow, like with a single spark everything would catch on fire.

It had been nearly a year since she had broken up with James; Edward figured that was plenty of time for her to get over him. It was time for him to make his move, and when he set his mind to something there was no deterring him.

Edward had his mind set to Bella. He always wanted her, but now it was time to make sure that he had her.

* * *

Bella plopped down on the couch beside Edward who sat eating the pizza they bought for dinner. "So," she said stealing the remote from him, "You and I are going to head over to Home Depot tomorrow, right?"

Edward turned to her, "What do we need to go to Home Depot for?" this was the first he had ever heard of these plans. "My sister wants to have lunch tomorrow."

Bella raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you not remember what we saw just a few hours ago? I never want to see that ever again."

Edward laughed and nudged her with his elbow. "Oh come on, you know you kind of liked it."

She shook her head at him. "We can meet your sister for lunch somewhere after."

Edward grinned cheekily. "Whatever you want to do," he said before turning back to the food piled on top of the plate that sat on the armrest.

"I want to paint the living room." Bella said as they turned a corner into a new aisle in Home Depot.

Edward cast her a sideways glance. "Are we allowed to paint the apartment?"

"Were you not paying attention to the landlord when we signed the lease agreement?" she asked him. "We can paint as long as its not some crazy color like orange."

"Well shit," Edward said. "That's the color I wanted to paint my bedroom."

"Oh shut up." Bella mumbled and stepped away from the cart. "You can go find blinds while I get paint. Come find me when you're done." She said and walked off in the opposite direction. Edward looked after her as she walked off. Her long hair was falling down her back in waves over the sweatshirt she was wearing. He could not wait for summer when she would break out the shorts and bathing suits.

Edward looked up at the list of things in the aisle and sighed. He was nowhere near blinds, gardening tools was the opposite of what he was looking for.

Bella stared at the paint samples, chewing on her thumbnail when she heard someone clear their throat. She jumped a little, startled out of her internal debate between "desert sand" and "dusty sunset."

"Can I help you with something miss?" the man said. She turned towards him and smiled at what she saw. A young man who appeared maybe a few years younger than Bella stood smiling at her. He was tall and muscular with paint stains on his Home Depot apron. His white teeth stood out against his tan skin. She looked at his name tag- Jacob Black.

Bella nodded. "Yes, thank you Jacob. I'm torn between these two colors." She said and handed them to Jacob.

He grinned at her. "Which room are you planning on painting?"

"The living room, but could I also get your input on something for the bedroom?" she asked coyly.

Something flashed in Jacob's chocolate eyes. "Of course, that's what I'm here for…" he trailed off, looking for her name.

"Bella," she said offering him her hand. His grip was strong and firm as he shook it.

"That's what I'm here for Bella," his boyish grin was strangely endearing. She was only twenty-two but she didn't want to be hitting on someone who was sixteen. But he did work the paint machinery and you had to be at least eighteen to do that…

Jacob gave Bella a few tips on colors and what type of paint she should get; she was caught up in every word that came out of his mouth. Bella wondered idly what Edward would think of this. She hadn't really thought anything of it when he asked her to live with him, they were just roomies. But living with Edward allowed her to see new parts of him. Not just his personality, but new parts of him physically. She had been living with him for only a few days but she did catch him walking out of the bathroom after a shower with only a towel on. Bella couldn't complain, with the hard muscles of his back and the perfect washboard six pack that she felt compelled to lick…

But he treated her like his little sister, so that put that fantasy to rest. Time to move on.

As the paints were being mixed Jacob looked at Bella curiously. "Bella," he asked, sounding a little nervous. "Do you want to grab some drinks later?"

He had to be twenty-one. "Yeah that sounds great," she said with a bright smile. "Can I see your phone?" Jacob pulled out his phone and handed it to her. She quickly put her number in and sent herself a text from his phone so she had his.

Jacob had a goofy grin on his face when she gave it back to him. "Where do you want to meet?"

Bella felt an arm fall upon her shoulder. "Hey Bella, what's going on?" Edward asked, holding her tightly to him.

Bella smiled uncomfortably and tried to wriggle out from underneath his arm. She didn't want Jacob to get the wrong idea. "Nothing, just getting some paint."

Jacob looked between the two of them and slightly raised an eyebrow at Bella. She pulled out her phone and sent him a text.

**Sorry, my roommate. My best friends older brother. Hes a bit protective. **

**Blue coyote- 7:30?**

Jacob turned away to grab the paint cans and felt her phone vibrate in her hand. She glanced down at the screen and saw Jacob had texted her back.

**You had me worried for a minute :P see you there**

She smiled down at the text and looked back up to Edward who had his eyebrows knitted together, deep in thought. She poked him in the arm. "So you got some blinds?"

He relaxed and looked down at her. "Yeah, take a look. Are they up to your standards?" She gave them a once over- trusting Edward's judgment and nodded. "You ready to go? We have to meet Alice soon." He asked.

"Yeah, why don't you go get in line and ill grab the last of the paint." Bella said, hoping she would be able to get a chance to say goodbye.

Edward looked from Bella to Jacob twice before he conceded and left. Once she believed him to be out of hearing range she turned to Jacob who was already looking at her. "Sorry about that," she said looking down at her feet.

"Are you sure you guys aren't dating? He looked very… comfortable with you." He said with his arms crossed over his chest, the muscles in his arms straining against the fabric of his black t-shirt.

"Very sure. It's kind of a long story, and not a very happy one. Maybe I'll tell you tonight." She told him with a wink.

Jacob grinned. "Can't wait."

Bella found Edward standing in one of the many lines to go through checkout. She put the paint cans into the basket and sidled up next to him, bumping his hip with hers. Edward smiled at her but it didn't reach his eyes.

"You okay?" she asked.

He nodded. "What was going on between you and that paint guy back there?" Edward asked. Bella bit her lip. Did she really want to tell him right now? Whatever was happening between her and Jacob could just be a one-night thing or maybe a few dates. It could just be nothing and a waste of time for him to fuss over.

"Nothing, we were just talking." She said a little too quickly, something that didn't pass by Edward unnoticed.

He pursed his lips. "Really."

"Yes really," she said annoyed.

"So do you have plans for this evening?"

"Why?"

Edward laughed. "I asked you a question first."

"And I replied but with a question. Why do you ask if I have plans for tonight?" Bella asked raising an eyebrow at him.

He shrugged. "I wanted to make you something special for dinner." Bella's heart swelled a little. Why would he want to make something special for dinner? "A kind of roommate welcome thing," heart officially deflated.

"Could we maybe postpone that for tomorrow? I do have plans for tonight unfortunately." She said.

Edward didn't look at her when he replied. "Uh, yeah, that's fine I guess. Whenever you're free."

Edward didn't speak or even glance in her direction the whole ride to the restaurant they had decided to meet Alice at. Bella would steal sideways glances at him but his face remained perfectly composed in a neutral expression. Bella wondered if she had done something or said something that could have elicited this kind of reaction from him. He couldn't really be that torn up over her having plans for tonight instead of staying in and having him cook for her. It wasn't as though he was asking her out on a date or something. It could have been, had he not said that it was a "welcome" thing for his new roomie.

When they reached the restaurant Alice's bright yellow Porsche was already parked and when they walked in they didn't even have to tell the hostess that their party was already here. A fashionably dressed midget mauled Edward.

Alice was nearly the opposite of Edward. Where he was nearly six foot two, she was five foot four. He had unruly copper hair Alice had straight black hair. His eyes were green and hers were gray. They had good genes though. They were truly beautiful people, as were their parents.

She hugged Bella once she was done with greeting Edward and brought them back to the table. Once everyone was seated she sighed with a bright smile on her face. "So, how has moving in been?"

"Pretty good so far." Bella responded.

"That's good, how do you like the place?"

Edward laughed. "Its great. The living room has one hell of a view."

Alice glanced at Bella then back at Edward. "What's that supposed to mean? Your apartment looks at another apartment."

Bella played with the straw in her water glass. "It looks into another apartments bedroom, to be specific."

It took Alice a moment to catch on to what Edward and Bella were referring to, but once she understood she gasped and started laughing, pulling all eyes in the restaurant to where they were sitting. "You aren't joking are you?" Edward and Bella shook their heads at the same time. "That has to be the most awful thing I have ever heard."

"Thankfully we _couldn't_ hear them." Edward said with a smirk.

Bella shook her head and took a sip of her water. "We invested in blinds today. I think they will pay for themselves in no time. It looked like they were filming a porno in there."

"They probably were," Alice said with a un-lady like snort.

Alice continued to laugh until the waitress arrived to take their orders. Once the waitress left Alice stood up. "Bella and I are going to the bathroom," she announced.

"Thank you for that lovely bit of information." Edward said.

Alice stuck her tongue out at him before grabbing Bella by the hand and pulling her to the back of the restaurant where the bathrooms were located. Once inside she turned to the mirror and began fixing up her makeup. "So, how have things with you and Edward been going?" she asked with a knowing smile.

Bella shrugged. "Fine I guess. He doesn't seem to be too hard to live with."

"Yes he is, trust me, I lived with him for eighteen years." She said sourly. "But that's not what I meant. I meant how are things going," she wiggled her eyebrows for added effect.

"Nowhere. Why would they be? He treats me like I'm his sister." Bella said bitterly. Alice didn't say anything and Bella took the opportunity to tell her about Jacob. "Which reminds me, today at Home Depot I met a really cute guy and we are going out for drinks." She said with a quiet squeal.

Alice smiled softly. "That's great. What does Edward think?"

"He doesn't. I didn't want to tell him in case in was nothing and just turned out to be a couple of dates. But I had to tell you."

"Thanks." She said and walked towards the door. "Lets go I'm sure our food is there by now."

Alice was right. When they got back to the table Edward was chowing down on his burger and their pastas were steaming in front of their seats. Bella dug in but Alice glared at her brother for two whole minutes before finally bringing food to her lips, only to glare at her brother while chewing.

Bella kept looking between Alice and her brother who was completely unaware of the looks that his sister was giving him. Bella put down her fork and pulled out her phone, texting Alice.

**What is with the looks your giving Edward?**

Alice jumped a few moments later and pulled out her phone. She gave Bella a sideways glance before she began typing away.

**He was supposed to be doing something very important, and he just fucked it all up. He's my brother; I can glare at him all I want. **

Bella sighed.

**What was he supposed to be doing that he fucked up?**

Alice typed back quickly.

**Don't worry about it doll face :) **

Bella raised her eyebrow and went back to eating her food. Edward threw his dirty napkin down on his plate and sat back in his seat contentedly.

"Damn," he said. "That was good."

Bella laughed. "Yeah, you didn't even notice your sister giving you the death stare the entire time you were eating."

Edward frowned. "Why were you looking at me like that?" he asked Alice.

She gave him the "are you kidding me" look. "Because you're a dumbass that's why."

"Don't try to spare my feelings or anything," he muttered.

Alice smiled. "I wont." She said sweetly and Edward flipped her off.

"You two are such loving siblings. It makes me so sad that I don't have any." Bella said sarcastically.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Yes you do, you have Alice and I." there was a thump under the table. "Fuck, Alice!"

"What?" she said innocently.

Edward ran his hands through his hair and thanked the waiter when he brought the check. Edward handed him his credit card and ignored us until it was brought back.

"Bella, ready to go?"

Bella nodded. "Yeah lets go and get those blinds up."

Everyone got up from the table and stopped outside. "Bella, can Edward meet you in the car? I need to have a little chat with my big brother." She said through her teeth.

"Yeah… sure…" she said and walked back to Edward's car. Out the window Bella could see Alice taking Edward by the shoulders and shaking him. When she finished her hands were up in the air and she began pacing. Alice finally stood before him with her hands on her hips. Edward began talking and before he shook his head and walked away with his hands in his pockets.

He got in the drivers seat and started the car without even looking at Bella.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"No not really." He sighed.

Bella groaned. "What is wrong with you two? Ever since Alice and I got back from the bathroom she has wanted to kill you. What happened?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with." He said.

"That's just what your sister said." Bella muttered folding her arms over her chest.

* * *

Bella stared long and hard at the two outfits that were lying across her bed. After she helped Edward put the blinds in she ran straight to her room to figure out what to wear tonight. She didn't want to be too over dressed because they were going to a bar but she didn't want to be in jeans and a t-shirt either.

Bella sat down on her bed, bringing a pillow to her face and let out a squeal of excitement. She couldn't remember the last time that she had gotten this excited over a date. Since breaking up with her long time boyfriend James she hadn't gone out on any dates. Bella had thought Edward might have been interested but he seemed to be getting more and more brotherly.

Bringing herself out of her thoughts Bella looked at her two outfits once more. Finally she decided on one. Dark wash skinny jeans, a cream top with lace on the sleeves and her moccasins to tone down the lace.

She hopped in the shower and made sure to scrub and shave and make sure everything was perfect. On her way out of the bathroom she bumped into someone. Edward. Her robe slipped open, revealing a little more than what she would prefer. Edward stared at her chest, his ears turning red.

"Hey," she said covering herself up.

"Hi," he said still staring at her.

She cleared her throat. "So, uh, what's going on? Did you want in the bathroom?"

He shook his head as if to clear it. "Yeah, I thought you were out already. You don't normally take that long."

"Oh, sorry about that. I'm going out tonight, so I just wanted to make sure I smelled good." Bella's face burned red hot. She wanted to kick herself. "make sure she smelled good?" really Bella, she thought to herself.

"Right," Edward said.

"Yeah, so I'm just going to go get dressed now." Bella said with a nod to herself and slid past him to get to her bedroom. She sat down on her bed and sighed before she looked at the clock. It would take her twenty minutes to get there, and she had two hours to get ready.

She got her hair all done and did some light makeup. When she put on her outfit she took a look at herself in the full-length mirror she had in the corner of her room and grinned to herself. She looked good.

When she walked out of her room at seven she found Edward sitting on the couch with left over pizza. Her heart dropped. Edward had been so kind, inviting her to move in with him so that she could get over paying for that fucking house, and then trying to sell it again because James wouldn't do it himself. Edward tried to do something nice for her, make her a special dinner and here she was going out with another guy.

"You look nice," Edward said.

She looked down at herself. "Thanks,"

"Where are you going?"

"Just to Blue Coyote,"

Edward nodded. "Remember when we went there for your twenty first birthday?"

Bella laughed. "Oh yeah, that sure was a night to remember."

Edward grinned. "Remember when you kissed me and told me that I was the sexiest man that you had ever seen?"

"No, I don't."

He smirked. "That goes to show how much you drank that night."

"Hey!" she said and sat down next to him, shoving him over onto his side. "I turned twenty-one that day, what do you expect?" he just laughed at her. "Did I really do that?"

Edward nodded with that cheeky grin that she loved so much but wanted to slap off his face. "Hell yeah you did! Alice even saw it. Rose and Emmett were in the bathroom screwing and Jasper was at the jukebox."

"Why didn't you or Alice tell me that I did that?" she asked him.

"You told us not to." He said.

"No I didn't! Why would I do that?" Bella started laughing so hard that she fell on top of him and he wrapped his arms around her. "Fuck, that is the cheesiest thing ever. 'The sexiest man alive?' seriously I couldn't come up with something more original than that?"

She felt him shrug. "I don't know about that, I feel like you were pretty accurate in that assessment. I am sexy, you can't deny that."

They both started laughing again and when they finally stopped they were breathing hard and she was settled in his arms. Bella could feel his breath in her ear and felt a soft shiver roll down her spine. She cleared her throat and sat up. "I, uh, I should go. I'm going to be late."

"Yeah," he said. "Wouldn't want you to be late."

"No, that would not be good," she muttered to herself before grabbing her purse and heading out the door.

When she got there it was about seven forty. Bella walked into the bar and looked around. "Bella!" she heard her name being called and found Jacob walking towards her dressed in a black button down, with the collar unbuttoned and the sleeves rolled up. That shirt did wonderful things to his muscles.

"Hey Jacob," she said with a smile. He pulled her into a hug. "How are you?"

"Pretty good, I already got a beer, if you don't mind." He said and gestured to the bar behind them.

"Its fine, sorry I'm late. My roommate and I started talking right before I was about to leave," she explained sitting down next him and ordering herself something to drink.

He smiled at her. "Its all good. I was a little early, I guess I was just excited."

She turned her stool to face him. "What were you excited for?"

He shrugged and his lips curled up into a sexy half smirk. "Well its not every day that I meet as beautiful a woman as yourself, and who also agrees to go out with me."

She laughed out loud at that one. "Oh please, you are gorgeous. You probably have girls lining up to date you."

He shrugged, "I may have gotten a few numbers but that doesn't mean that I call."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Right," Bella sipped her beer and gave him a suspicious once over.

"Its true, you are the first girl that I have gone out with since I broke up with my last girlfriend, Leah." He said with a smile, but his eyes looked sad.

"And how long ago was that?" Bella asked him.

"About a year ago."

"How many girls have you slept with since then?"

Jacob smirked. "None,"

Bella threw back her beer. "I find that very hard to believe Mr. Black,"

"I guess you will just have to take my word for it." He said. "This is the most interesting date I have ever been on,"

Bell smirked. "Oh so this is a date now?"

Jacob looked startled, "It doesn't have to be if you don't want it to, I guess I just kind of assumed that this could be considered a date."

Bella thought for a moment. Jacob seemed genuine; most guys who were just looking for a good time generally didn't call these kinds of hangouts a date. So far he was cute and funny and honest, but he also seemed to have had his heartbroken, just like she had.

"If you want it to be a date, then it can be. I don't see anything wrong with that." She said with a small smile.

"So you know that means if this is date one, then there has to be a date two," he said.

Bella laughed. "Yes that is generally how the whole dating thing works."

"What are you doing this Tuesday night?"

She thought about it for a moment. She did have school that day, but her last class ended at four. "My last class is at four. What did you have in mind?"

"It's a surprise."

"I hate surprises."

"You better get used to them. I love surprising people." He said with a bright smile.

"You know, I may have to reconsider this whole 'dating' thing if you insist on surprising me." She laughed.

Jacob smiled at her. "You know, I don't even know your whole name, or anything about you, and here we are getting all serious about dating."

"Isabella Marie Swan," she answered simply. "I live with my best friends brother, I'm a student at the university to become a teacher and I have a shit load of debt because of my ex. What about you?"

"Wow, that's a lot. Jacob Ephraim Black. I live alone, own my own garage and work part time at Home Depot to help pay for my fathers hospital bills." He said.

Bella's head turned to the side slightly in question. "What's wrong with your dad?" Jacob turned his seat back towards the bar and rested his head in his hands. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I know what its like."

"I'll tell you my story if you tell me yours."

"Deal. About two years ago, my parents were killed. They went out to see a show in Seattle and when they left they were mugged and ended up getting murdered." Bella said and felt tears spring into her eyes. She hadn't talked to anyone about her parents in so long. The last person she had talked to about them was Edward, right after they met. She had felt this connection with Edward when they had met, like a spark deep within her body.

She felt a hand on her knee. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through that loss. When I was a baby my parents were out driving and got into a car crash that paralyzed my father from the waste down and killed my mother. My father has had a lot of nerve damage that has needed to be taken care of. So that's what I'm paying for."

Bella brought a hand to his face. "Oh Jacob,"

"You can call me Jake you know,"

"Alright Jake."

Bella still had her hand on his cheek and his hand was still on her knee. Their eyes connected and he leaned forward, glancing between her eyes and her lips. Bella took her bottom lip between her teeth and brought her head closer. Jake closed the pace between them and Bella sighed. His lips were strong and soft, the slight stubble on his jaw tickling her.

When they pulled away they both sighed. "Wow," they said at the same time before laughing.

"So, Tuesday, I will pick you up?" Jake asked.

She nodded. "Ill text you my address."

"Awesome."

They held hands walking out of the bar and he walked her to her car. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he rested his hands on her hips. She brought her lips up to his, initiating the kiss. It was soft and sweet. "I talk to you later," she said.

"I'll call you tomorrow," he said.

"Sounds perfect,"

* * *

The next morning when Bella woke up she lay in bed for a few minutes, thinking about Jacob and the amazing night that they had. She thought it went pretty well as far as first dates went.

When she got up and went out into the living room she saw that Edward wasn't up yet. She turned him down for a nice dinner last night, so why not do a nice Sunday morning breakfast for him? It was the least that she could do. Maybe she would make him a fancy dinner as well.

By the time that she heard heavy footsteps come down the short hall she had just poured the last pancake into the pan. "Good morning sunshine," she said turning around to find a very sleepy Edward standing there rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He was wearing only a pair of flannel sweatpants that rode low on his hips. His beautiful chest was exposed to her and she felt a blush creep up onto her cheeks and turned around before he could see.

"What's all this?" he asked.

She turned around and sat up on the counter. "I bailed on you last night, so I thought I could make you something special for breakfast."

"What did you make?"

Bella looked at all the food that she had made. "I probably went a little overkill for only two people, but I made pancakes, bacon, eggs, and hash-browns."

"Well shit, I guess this means that I have to make you dinner tonight." He said, grabbing a plate and filling it up with all the food that she had made.

Bella laughed. "Oh don't act like you don't love cooking for me. It brings you so much joy."

"Think what you want sweet cheeks," he said and tapped her on the nose.

Bella bit her lip at the sound of him calling her a pet name and she started on a plate of her own. He sat down at the small table that they bought before moving in and began eating. He moaned, loud and guttural. Bella bit her lip harder and felt a tingling sensation in her girly parts. Why did Edward have to be so hot? She knew he didn't want her like that, but still, she couldn't help herself.

When she sat down at the table she poked at her food. "So how was your date last night?" Edward asked, looking directly into her eyes.

Bella felt herself shrink down a little. "It wasn't a date, I was just out with a friend."

"You don't get that dressed up just to go out with a friend." She noticed how he didn't just say anyone. He knew her too well.

"Alright, it was a date. And it went fine." She said stuffing food into her mouth hoping that he might get the hint to drop the subject. Potential boyfriends and sleepover buddies wasn't exactly the conversation that she wanted to have with the guy who treated her like his little sister.

He looked her over suspiciously. "When are you two going out again?"

"Tuesday night."

"What's his name?"

"Jacob Black."

Edward threw his head back in laughter and clutched at his chest. "Seriously? The paint guy from Home Depot?"

"He works there on the weekends to help pay for his fathers medical bills. And what's wrong with him working at Home Depot? At least he has a job, unlike most people right now in this shit economy." She shot back defensively.

"I just think you could do so much better than that." He said.

Bella snorted. "Like what? You?"

"Yes," Edward replied matter-of-factly, keeping eye contact with her.

Bella took a deep breath before pulling her gaze away and back down to her plate.

After that conversation things fell into silence until Bella finished. "So do you want to start painting today?"

"Are you going to invite paint boy over? I'm sure he's very knowledgeable in the art of painting walls." Edward replied sarcastically.

Bella glared at him before picking up both of their plates and putting them in the sink. "If you don't want to help, you don't have to. You also don't have to go making fun of the guy just because he works at Home Depot." Bella snapped.

"Would you calm down? I'm joking. Yes I would love to start painting today, what color did you get anyway?"

Bella grabbed the paint cans from the corner of the room. "For the living room I got a nice 'dusty sunset' or in other words beige. For my room, I got 'melted chocolate' and 'summer cinnamon'. Or dark brown and light brown."

Edward brought a hand up to his chest and clutched at it like he was in pain, "And I didn't get 'perfect peach' or 'grassy green'?" he asked in mock hurt.

"I would have asked what you wanted but you were too busy being an overprotective brother about Jacob."

Edward smirked. "I definitely was not acting like a big brother, and I think he got that."

Bella rested one hand on her left hip, resting all her weight on that side. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said. That I wasn't acting like your big brother, and you could read it all over his face that he understood completely." Edward stated.

Bella thought back to the day before when Jacob had texted her, asking if Edward was really only a roommate and nothing more. She felt her face flush and she bit her lip. "You were jealous." She said.

Edward didn't bother hiding it. In his mind, it was game on with the dog, that and he didn't want to have to deal with his sister bitching at him anymore. "Yes I was."

Bella wasn't sure if she wanted to know why he was jealous, but she knew it could be only one thing, and that one thing made her heart flutter. "I'm going to go get dressed and then layout the tarps so we can get started,"

When Bella went back into her room she leaned against the door, and began running through everything that had just conspired. Edward was jealous of Jacob, the boy that Bella was now dating. She knew that there was only one conclusion to come to. Edward liked Bella in a more than friendly or brotherly way. Edward liked her, in the way that she had always liked him.

It had been easy for her not to get too ahead of herself in the past. She had never been one of those girls who when she liked a boy, fell head over heels for him. Bella knew not to let herself ever get that far, it always ended in heartbreak, just like the movies.

But what was she supposed to do now? She and Jake were supposed to be going out on their second date this week, but what about Edward? Did Edward even want a relationship? She couldn't deny that she did really like Jacob, but if Edward wanted to be with her, could she just scrap whatever she had with Jake?

Could she date both for a while then choose? Bella internally slapped herself for even thinking about it. How could she do that? Just screw around with their feelings because she couldn't figure out hers?

Bella knew what life would be like with Edward. Bella had fantasized about what it would be like, the strolls in the park, owning a house, starting a family, the whole shebang.

Bella pushed the thoughts from her mind for the moment. She knew she was going to have to talk it out with Edward at some point, and soon. Tuesday was only two days away.

She pulled on a pair of cut off shorts and a big t-shirt that said "Cabo" on it. When she came back out, pulling her hair up into a ponytail Edward was dressed in a pair of shorts and a white t-shirt and was working on moving all the furniture away from the walls.

"Need help?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Nah, I got it. I just have to get the TV out of here and the stand and we should be good. Start laying out the tarps." He instructed.

She gave him a salute and went to work on taking the tarps out of their bags and laying them out on the floor. When she finished with that she started opening the paint cans and began stirring them. When Edward was finished he grabbed a brush and took to the wall.

Bella took a deep breath. It was now or never to find out what all his cryptic little sayings meant. "Edward what are your feelings towards me? Are they friendly, brotherly or romantic?" she asked bluntly, holding her breath waiting for his answer.

"Romantic."

Bella stood up and turned to face him, his green eyes were blazing into hers and she sucked in a breath. "How long have you felt this way?"

"A while,"

"Why are you telling me all of this now?"

Edward smirked his patented sexy half smirk that Jacob didn't have anything on. "Because you asked." Bella raised an eyebrow at him; she wanted a real answer. "Honestly?" she nodded tersely. "Ever since the moment we met, it has felt like there was something between us. You can't act like you never felt it." He said challenging her. Bella's shoulders slumped; she had felt it between them, like a static charge, even when she was with James. "I wanted you from the very beginning, baggy clothes, attitude and all." Bella was about to snap at him when he crossed the space between them and covered her mouth with his hand so he could finish talking. "I didn't want to be the rebound guy after you broke up with that asshole you used to call a boyfriend, so I waited for you. Getting you to move in with me was a little plan between Alice and my mom. They have always been rooting for us on the sidelines." He laughed. "Things have been changing, I can feel it, and I don't want to lose whatever chance I have with you to some guy who works at Home Depot."

Bella's eyes were wide and she felt tears building up. That was the sweetest thing that anyone had ever said to her. She pushed his hand away from her mouth, "So what your saying is…"

"What I'm saying is that I want to be in a relationship with you. Starting now, or tomorrow or whenever you are ready, just be with me and no one else."

Bella weighed out the pros and cons. She couldn't come up with very many cons. The only major bad thing she could think of was to tell Jacob that she couldn't see him anymore after all that they had talked about last night.

Bella sighed and Edward took that as a bad sign. "I just spilled my guts to you, but what do you feel for me?" he asked nervously.

"I'm not going to lie. I have always kind of liked you from the beginning, but after a while you just treated me like I was your little sister. And I respect you for giving me space while I was moving on. I really like Jacob…" Bella began chewing on her fingernail and Edward's face fell. "…But I guess I just have to get my lady balls out of my purse and tell him that I'm going to be busy on Tuesday night and every other night from now on."

Edward's face brightened instantly and his hands found purchase on her hips as he dropped the paintbrush on the tarp. "And what are you going to be busy doing?"

Bella wrapped her arms around Edward's neck. "You are making me that special 'welcome' dinner," she told him.

"I think that can be arranged." Edward whispered against her lips eliciting a giggle from Bella before he pulled her into the most mind-blowing kiss that either of them had experienced. Their lips moved together in perfect synchronization. Edward ran his tongue lightly over Bella's lip and she granted him access to her mouth. Their tongues battled, before Bella pulled back, bringing his bottom lip between her teeth, causing a groan to come out of Edward. She smiled into the kiss before she pulled away, breathing heavy.

They rested their foreheads against each other's and stood there for a while, reveling in the feeling of being with each other in this way; it felt so fluid and natural to each of them. "That was long over due." Edward said.

"If I remember correctly on my birthday we already did that." Bella pointed out.

Edward shook his head. "Doesn't count if you aren't sober." Bella laughed and looked around the room. "What?" Edward asked.

"Its kind of dark in here." Bella said.

"So turn on a lamp."

Bella rolled her eyes. "You unplugged all the lamps." She said walking over to the window and began pulling on the drawstrings of the blinds.

"Bella, are you sure you want to do that?" Edward asked.

"They can't possibly be fucking every time we try to open the blinds or the window." She said confidently and pulled on the string. In front of her a different couple was getting it on with another guy holding a camera in his hands and began circling them. Bella pulled the shades back down. "What the fuck." She said turning back to Edward who was trying to hold back his laughter. "As soon as I pay off that damn house we are looking for a new place to live."

"But this place has a room with a view, people kill for a room with a view!"

* * *

**1 Year Later**

"What do you think of this one, love?" Edward called from the kitchen.

Bella stared out the window in wonderment. "I love it."

"Really? So you think this might be it?" he asked. They had been house hunting for weeks now but none of them had been "just right" for Bella.

"Are you kidding? Look," she said turning his face to the window. The house was settled on a hill over looking the forest and the mountains. It was nearly five so the sun was beginning to set, bringing out the most beautiful vibrant colors in the flowers surrounding the house. The incoming sunlight caused the diamond on Bella's ring finger to cast rainbows over the wall in front of them

"That is one hell of a view." Edward said throwing an arm over his fiancés shoulder.

"It isn't people fucking, that's for damn sure," she said with a laugh before turning them around. "And this is a place where we can raise a family. It is absolutely perfect."

Edward turned to the realtor who was looking at the clipboard in her hands. "We'll take it."

* * *

**So as you can see I have started doing these exercises that the amazing ericastwilight has come up with. Im sure you all know who she is, she is in my favorite authors. I feel like I have met a celebrity by doing this with her. I have read all of her stories and they are amazing if you dont already know. **

**but make sure you head over to **ericastwilight**'s page as well as **kyla713** another wonderfully talented author. they have the same beginnings with different endings! **

ALSO! if you would like to be a part of this, just send a message to ericastwilight, she would love to have more people participate!

**for those of you who have read SAT hopefully i should be posting another chapter soon, ill give you all my excuses then!**

**Bri**


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